A novel technique for the quantitative examination of nasal tip support.

[OBJECTIVE] We proposed a novel technique for the quantitative examination of tip recoil. The technique measures nasal tip strain as an objective measure of tip recoil. We used the term tip recoilometry to refer to this measurement technique.

[DESIGN] We performed case studies in two phases. Phase 1 included 30 candidates with normal tip recoil and 30 candidates with weak tip recoil. Phase 2 included 40 patients who had undergone open rhinoplasty surgery by either columella strut or caudal extension graft methods. We evaluated tip support of patients 1 year after the surgery.

[RESULTS] The nasal tip strain of normal target group before any surgery was 0.158 and that of the patients with nasal tip ptosis was 35% more than that of the normal target group. The methods columella strut and caudal extension graft achieved 43% and 74% nasal tip strain reduction, respectively.

[CONCLUSION] The proposed technique can help a surgeon to select a proper plan and to evaluate the success of the surgery.